Method and apparatus for treating water



J. P. LAWLOR METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING WATER Filed Dec.

fimerzz or' I Jose vfil g/or,

/ flZ LV Aug. 14, 1945.

Patented Aug. 14, 1945 2,382,490 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING v v y jwA'raa Joseph P..I .awlor, Ames; Iowa ApplicationDecember 22, 1939, Serial No. 310,657 6 Claims. ((1210-1 tanlr' Hand having infits center'an opening 24 This invention relates to a methodand apparatus for treating water and more particularly to water softening and purification.

An object of'this invention is to. provide-for the continuous treatment of water to effect the purification and softening thereof, the water and treating material being intimately and thorthrough which the water may pass; The bafll 23, onthe other'hand,;may.befa disk, which fitted tightly around the "shaft I8 and extends outwardly to a pointnear the sides, of: the tank.

Straps 25 serveas a mounting for ,thebaillef 23 the tank outside the .baflle23.

and permit the water toi'flow'alongthe side of The vertical. baffles 26 may also be arranged.

within the tank l4 and preferably extend inwardly fromthersides jofthe tank. The rotatalzple shaft come ineffective for further treatment. Yet anfurtherobject is to provide a method and.cappa-,

ratus which is effective for water treatment. .Another object is to provide for. the-mixing of a precipitating agent withwater and theuniform distribution of the precipitating agent therethrough.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following specification and drawing, in which the drawing shows a side elevational view, partly in section, of a specific embodiment of my invention. Y. w 5

In the specific embodiment of my invention shown herein, the water to' be treated is passed through an aerator "I, which is of well known construction and need not be described specifically herein. Fromthe aerator ID, the water passes through the pipe H past the valve [2 and through the inlet B into the bottom of the mixing tank l4. Above the inlet I3, thetank is provided with a second inlet I5, through which may be introduced lime, soda ash, or otherpsuitable precipitating agent from the container 16. The flow of this precipitating agent may be controlled by the valve H, which may be,'if desired, automatic.

The mixing tank I4 is preferably constructed in the form of a vertically extending cylinder, and is provided with a'rotatable shaft l8 centrally disposed within the tankand supported by the bearings l9 and 20. A motor 2 I, mounted on the top of the tank, serves to rotate the shaft IS;

The tank [4 isalso provided with horizontal bames 22 and 23 extending across the interior of the tank. The baffle 22 may be in the form of 18 carries a series of agitatorblades 2 l 'whic h are spaced between .the'bafil'es 22, 23 and 125; I

An outlet 2 8,is provided in the lowerpo'rtio of the tankfor the purpose of drainingzthe same. In addition, an overflow outlet 29 joins the upper portion of the tank with the pipe 30. After the, water andvthe precipitating agent are thoroughlyv mixed in the tanau,, me,muture is withdrawn through the outlet}! and flows through the pipe 30 to the' settlingtankfl. Alum or other suitable coagulating agent'rnay be introducedinto the mixture through the pipe 30, the valve 32 being provided to control the now of this material. I

The settling tank 33 is preferably cylindrical in shape and receives in its interior a hollow inverted drum 3,4, which is centrally located. within vertical passage 80 therebetween. The drum may be supported within the tank by any'suitable mounting (not shown).

The pipe 30'fpasses through the tanklinletiii and drum inlet 36, thereby delivering the water mixture'to the interior'of the drum. Since the bottom of the drum is open, any water delivered tothe interior of. the drum may readily flowinto the lower portion .of the settlingtank 3 3. 1 n The top of the drum 34 is closed, andmay be so constructed as to provide a recess 31., The recess 31 is preferably in the form of an inverted cone in which the sides of the recess extend downwardly and inwardly'from' the top 'of the drum. outlet 48 communicates withthejlowexj portion of the recess 31; The top of the'drum 34 is also'provide'd with an opening the vertical shaft 49 passes, 1

The shaft 48 is rotatably supported by the bearings 50 and Hand is connected tothe'motor a flat annular plate secured to the sides of the I2. tator blade 53 which is positioned between the bottomof the tank," and the drum 34. Vertical baffles 54, extending inwardly from the sides of through which The lower end of the shaft carries an ,agi- I the tank Bl, help to prevent rotation of the water within the tank when the agitator blade II is moved.

The tank 83 is equipped at its lower end with an outlet ll controlled by valve 50. The outlet ll, communicating with the recess 31, is connected to the pipe I1 which passes through a tank outlet and across to the concentrating tank N. Valves II, II and 82 control the flow through the pipe ll. Another pipe 8|, communicating with a source of water supply, is joined to the ipe Il intermediate of the settling tank 83. and

the concentrating tank 64. Another outlet I .j

furnishes a connection for the pipe ti which ex tends to an inlet ll in the concentrating tank 04. A valve 80 controls the flow of liquid through this latter pipe.

In the upper portion of the settling tank an overilow outlet 0. receives water and delivers the same through the pipe and valve II to the inlet II in the storage tank 12. Thus when the water in the settling tank a rises to the level indicated at ll, it will pass intothe overiiow outlet and be delivered into the storage tank 12.

The concentrating tank 4 may consist of an elongated cylinder, preierablyoi' relatively small cross sectional area,'and is provided with the inlets it and I1 already referred to. The upper portion of the concentrating tank communicates with a pipe 14 through'which water must be'delivered tothe storage tank I2. A'valve 1' controls the'flow of water through the pipe "14. The concentrating tank Cl is also equipped at its lower portion with an outlet I! controlled by the valve 11. n

The storage tank 12 may be of any suitable construction. From this storage tank, the water may bedelivered to a pump I8 and a filter II of well known construction. The water withdrawn from the filter II to the pipe I! is ready for use.

In operation, the water from aerator iii is introduced into the mixing tank It through the inlet II in the lower portion of the tank. Lime, soda ash, or other chemical precipitating agent may be simultaneously introduced into the mixing tank ll through the inlet II, this latter inlet being located slightly above the inlet it. The waterand the precipitating agent-are agitated within the tank It by the rotation of the blades I'ldrivenbythemotoril. I "In order to flow upwardly through the tank, it is necessary for the water to pass through the central opening 24 in the haflie 22 and through the peripheral openings around the edge of the bailie 2i. The vertical bailles 28 prevent any substantial rotation of the mixture within the As a result of the agitation of the water and precipitating agent within the tank and the baille constmction provided therein, these substances are thoroughly mixed as they flow upwardly to the outlet 2|.

' By introducing'the chemicals to the tank at a point above the .water inlet, I have found that beneficial results may be achieved. The water, upon its introduction to the tank, is first exposed to the precipitating agent which is mixed with the water already present. After flowing upwardly through the tank to the level ofthe inlet ii, the water is brought intocontact with the fredi precipitating agent. The fresh precipitating agent is then thoroughly mixed with the water as it flows on upwardly to the outlet 28.

A suitable coagulating agent, such as alum, is

downwardly around the lower edges of the drum fothe bottom of the tank It- The mixture is thus delivered from .the drum 3 to the bottom of the vertical passages II in the lower portion of the tank ll.

As the precipitating agent and coagulating agent react with the water, a precipitate is formed whichcombines with the chemicals to produce a sludge. This sludge is of such a character that it will'remain suspended in the water for a substantial period of time and will settle to the bottom only at a very slow rate. As the water flows upwardly through the passage ll, the sludge forms a blanket through which the water is filtered.

For the' purpose of convenience, I will hereafter refer to the mixture of precipitating agent and precipitate, whether with or without a coagulating agent 'as sludge.

During the operation of the device, th agitator blade 53 i slowly rotated by the motor 52, causing'the stirringof any sludge which may settle in the bottom oi the tank. The baiiles 54 help .to prevent any substantial rotation of the water within the tank. The upward now of the water in the tank carries the sludge upwardl to such an extent that the suldge blanket will normally extend to about the vertical center of the tank.

As the reaction proceeds, the sludge, which has remained in the water for a substantial period of time, tends-to'bemoved to a point above the inlet area formed by the passage Ill. The sludge in the portion of the tank above the passage llmay settle into the settling area provided by the recess." and from this position may be withdrawn to the concentrating tank it.

I have found that after the sludge has remained suspended in the water for a substantial period of time, it tends to lose its eil'ectiveness as a filtering agent. It is, therefore, highly desirableto remove from the body of water the sludge which is found above the inlet area or vertical passage 80. The fresh sludge will, of course; be concentrated in the vertical passage IO and will gradually be carried upwardly in the body or water to a point where it may settle into the recess 81.

Any excess sludge which may be collected in the bottom of the tank ll may be removed to the concentrating tank N through the pipe II.

The treated water, which rises to the top of the tank II, is withdrawn through the overflow outlet and delivered to the storage tank I2.

A mixture of sludge and water are introduced intothe concentrating tank N through the inlets 03 and 01. Since these inlets are located in the .lower portion of the concentrating tank, the mixture flows upwhrdly within the tank The sludge being heavier than the water tends to settle out and purified or treated water is delivered to the outlet in the upper portion of the The sludge water mixture may be introduced into the concentrating tank it until the sludge is nnally carried to the upper portion of the tank. At this point,'the valve II and the valves '2 and 0! ma be closed and the concentrated sludge mixture withdrawn from the tank through the outlet 16.

The concentrator may be operated either continuously or intermittently, except that in the continuous operation it is necessary to stop the introduction of the sludge mixture long enough to drain the concentratingtank. In the intermittent operation, the sludge water mixture'may be introduced into the concentrating tank 64 and maintained in a quiescent stage until the sludge has settled at the bottom of the tank. At this time, the sludge may be withdrawn through the outlet 16.

When it is desired to operate the water treating equipment after it has been shut down for a substantial period of time, the valve 62 may be closed and the valve 6| opened to permit water to flow through the pipes 60 and 51 into the bottom of the recess 31. The flow of this water will cause the sludge in the recess 31 to rise in the main body of water and to be dispersed therethrough, thus quickly creating a sludge blanket which will be effective as a filtering and pumping agent.

As soon as the sludge is distributed throughout the body of water, the valve 6| may be closed and the flow of water through the aerator m and mixer l4 begun. In this manner, the time required to bring the apparatus into elective operation may be greatly reduced.

When it is desired to clean the apparatus, the tanks may be drained through'the outlets 28. 55 and 16.

from the upper portion of said second body, and withdrawing the precipitate and precipitating agent from the lower portion of said second body.

While there are shown and described certain embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that it is capable of many modifications. Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims, in which it is intended to claim all novelty inherent in the invention as broadly as permissible, in View of the prior art.

I claim:

1. A method for treating water which comprises maintaining a body of water, introducing a small amount of water into a settling area in the lower portion of said body of water to disperse a precipitating agent throughout said body of water, introducing a mixture of raw water anda precipitating agent into said body through a small inlet area in the lower portion of the body below the portion thereof communicating with the settling area, collecting in the settling area the precipitating agent and precipitate from the body of water above said inlet area, withdrawing the collected precipitate and precipitating agent, withdrawing from the lower portion of said inlet area excess precipitating agent, and withdrawing 3. In apparatus of the character set forth for the treating of water, a settling tank, an inverted drum centrally disposed within said tank and having an open lower end with the lower edge of the drum spaced from the bottom of said tank to provide communication between the interior of said drum and said tank, said drumbeing spaced from the sides'o the tank to provide a substantially vertical flow passage between said drum and said tank, the upper end of said drum being closed and being recessed to provide means for collecting sludge from the portion of the tank above said passage, means for introducing raw water and a precipitating agent into the interior of said drum, means for agitating the mixture within said tank, baiile means for preventing rotation of the mixture, an outlet in the upper portion of the tank for removing treated water, means for removing sludge from the recessed portion of said drum, and means for removing sludge from the lower portion of said passage.

4. In apparatus of the character set forth for the treating of water, a mixing tank, an inlet in the lower portion of said tank for introducing water, a second inlet in the lower portion of said tank and above said first-mentioned inlet for introducing a. precipitating agent, rotary stirring means for agitating the mixture in said tank, vertical and horizontal baflle means for preventing substantial rotation of the mixture in said tank, and an outlet in the upper portion of said tank for withdrawing said mixture.

5. A method for treating water which comprises maintaining a body of water with a precipitating agent suspended therein, introducing raw water into said body through an inlet in the lower portion thereof, introducing additional quantities of precipitating agent into the lower portion of said body above said raw water inlet, stirring with a rotary motion the mixture of water and precipitating agent, passing the mixture upwardly through vertical and horizontal bafile means disposed within said body of water whereby the baflle means cooperate with the stirring of the mixture to produce agitation thereof while treated water from the upper portion of said body.

2. A method for treating water which comprises maintaining a body of water, introducing raw water and a precipitating agent into the lower portion of said body, withdrawing treated water from the top of said body of water, withdrawing a mixture of water, precipitate and the precipitating agent from the lower portion of said body.

passing said mixture through an inlet into the lower portion of a second and separate body. of water, said second body of water being in communication with said first-mentioned body only through said inlet, withdrawing treated water preventing substantial rotation of the mixture,

and withdrawing the mixture of water and precipitating agent from the upper portion of said body.

6. In combination with means for mixing water with a precipitating agent, a settling tank, means for introducing the mixture of water and precipitating agent into the settling tank for removing sludge from the mixture, an outlet in the upper portion of the settling tank for withdrawing treated water therefrom, an outlet in the lower portion of the settling tank for withdrawing sludge containing water therefrom, a concene trating tank, means forintroducing the sludge containing water withdrawn from the settling tank into the lower portion of said concentrating tank, an outlet in the upper portion of said concentrating tank for withdrawing water, an outlet in the lower portion of said concentrating tank for withdrawing therefrom the entire mixture 

